All On My Own
by sourulfur
Summary: Authenticity, a well known restaurant in town, is known for the Family Wall; which is a wall of photos that depicts important people in the family-of-choice that is Stiles Stilinski's. His family might be broken, but it is his own and he is quite proud of it. After meeting Derek Hale, his daughter's teacher, Stiles may just find himself with a full wall of faces.
1. Chapter 1

"_This is my family.  
I found it, all on my own.  
Is little, and broken, but still good.  
Yeah, still good._"

-_ Stitch, __**Lilo & Stitch**_

* * *

There was a wall; but, not just any wall. It was painted a warm, soft white color that glowed yellow when the sun hit it just right. It filled the room of the little, family owned restaurant that featured it with a homey sense that just added to the atmosphere. On that wall were several photo frames, always holding room for one more. The photos ranged from serious to silly to just breathtakingly beautiful. The frames were different styles, not all of them matching any set theme and held the pictures of the owners' family, both living and deceased. His favorite photo, he had to admit, was toward the lower right in the group of photos.

There, surrounded by a white mat and a black frame, sat a photo of his mother smiling in her wedding dress. Whenever he felt lost, unsure of what to do next, he looked to that photo and he could hear his mother's final words to him, words of encouragement that no longer made him cry but made him smile. That morning, like many before them, began with the sounds of his morning line cooks doing the prep work in the kitchen while he sat at one of the tables in the dining room that was bathed in early morning sunlight as he went over the books. Erica hummed softly to herself as she wiped down the bar on the far side of the room that only served mimosas that early in the day.

"Stiles" Stilinski had been the owner and head chef of _Authenticity_ for the previous five years. The restaurant was one that was known for making _authentic_ food from several different cultures, the cultures of Stiles himself, and those friends that have become like his family. It should not have worked, the hodgepodge of flavors, but somehow, the atmosphere and the union of heritages seemed to draw in a decent enough crowd to do more than just skate by.

"Daddy!" called a tall, blonde girl no older than eight or nine years old (she was turning nine in April, _thank you very much_) as she came rushing out of the staff room at the end of the hall to the right.

Just the sound of her voice made Stiles look up with a bright smile on his face, and he set his pen down on top of his paperwork. "Hey, Princess," he stated as he watched his daughter come skidding to a stop next to the table he occupied. "Your hair looks lovely all braided up like that. Did Aunt Allison help you?"

The young girl nodded a few times, giving her dad a bright smile as she twisted slightly from side to side with her feet planted firmly on the ground, giving sign of just how much she was excited for her first day back to school. "She did! She also said that I should have time for some french toast for breakfast. Can I have some daddy, Please?" she asked in the rapid speed that she, along with Stiles, was known to possess.

Stiles chuckled and nodded as he stood up before dropping a kiss to the top of her head. He then gathered all the books and said, "Can you take these back to the office, sweetheart? Then, I'll start your breakfast while Erica opens us up."

"Yay!" The eight-year old smiled brightly as she gathered the books and papers before she carefully took them back to the office at the far end of the hallway she had came from earlier. She made absolutely sure that she did not drop a single piece of paper, knowing that they were very important without knowing what they were about. Grown up stuff, she guessed, as she shut the office door behind her when she left to return to the dining room.

When she got back, there were a few regular customers already sitting down at different tables. "Hello, Karolina," Mrs. Baker, one of the elderly women who came in every morning for coffee and the pancake breakfast, said with a warm smile as Stiles' daughter passed their table.

"Good morning." Karolina spoke with a bright smile, one that only seemed to grow when she noticed a very familiar man in a police uniform come walking past the front windows toward the door. "Grandpa!" She all but shouted before running over to catch the man around the waist with a hug, making "John" Stilinski chuckle as he rubbed her back.

He was quite proud of the little girl next to him and never tired of seeing her, or his son for that matter. "Morning, Kaja," he replied with a chuckle before letting her lead him to the table that had her backpack already sitting on one of the empty chairs. John nodded with a smile at Erica when she looked in his direction before the blonde young woman disappeared into the back, no doubt taking the cooks some orders and letting Stiles know that his father was there.

John listened with a soft smile as his granddaughter spoke all about how she was so excited for her first day of fourth grade, that she could not _wait _to see who her teacher was, and she really hoped that she got to sit next to some boy named Cole because he had the _best _crayons and loved to share with his neighbors. All the while, the soft hustle and bustle of Isaac and Erica taking orders and chatting with the early morning regulars dinned in the background as it did most mornings until suddenly there were two plates being sat down on the table (John noted that his own was devoid of the well cooked bacon that sat waiting on Karolina's plate), along with some chocolate milk for his granddaughter and a cup of coffee for himself. "Mornin', Pops," Stiles said with a cheeky grin which only then caused John to narrow his eyes at his son at the lack of what _made_ the breakfast the best. "Oh, don't give me that look. You heard Melissa, less of the fatty stuff."

"Yeah, yeah," John grumbled as he stabbed at the pancakes on his plate (devoid of syrup though there was butter so he guessed he could take the compromise).

Only once the orders were delivered and the other patrons checked upon did Isaac, Erica, and Stiles join John and Karolina at the table. They all talked, conversations overlapping each other, but each one had a smile on their face and John; well, John could not help but lean back in his seat slightly and marvel at the small slice of the family that they had created throughout the years.

* * *

"Daddy, we're going to be late!" Karolina said as she tugged on her dad's hand to lead him down the hallway. Her teacher that year was new to the school, from what Stiles understood he had taught for a couple years in Los Angeles before transferring to Beacon Hills, and he had requested a chance to meet all his students' parents, if possible, that morning.

From the sounds coming through the doorway that Karolina was leading him to, Stiles could only assume they were not going to be the first ones there. "We're still ten minutes early, Kaja," chuckled Stiles, not missing the smile that his daughter flashed his direction. It was one he knew well from experience, one that read that she was well aware of that but she was impatient and did not care about others sense of time. To _her_, they were late.

The two of them walked into the classroom that was labeled as being _Mr. Hale's Fourth Grade_ and Stiles paused near the doorway when Karolina stopped just inside the doors. There were all kinds of different posters along the walls with a blank cork board that stretched the entire right wall that was only marked by some cut out letters reading that the wall was going to be an art wall. There were cubbies at the back of the room for students to put their things in, along with a row of hooks for coats and a small rack above it for hats and things. There seemed to be a reading corner near the front of the room, and in the back corner was a bookcase of board games labeled as indoor recess activities.

"Hi," came a voice to Stiles' right, pulling the young man's attention to where _the most gorgeous man he had __**ever**__seen_ was walking toward him from the front of the room. Were jeans that form fitting even _allowed_ for teachers? Stiles had to practically force himself to keep his eyes upward so that he was not _obviously_ staring. The man held a hand out toward Stiles when he came to a stop a few feet away from the two. "I'm Mr. Hale, Derek."

"Stiles... Stilinski," he offered before taking the man's hand in his own. He gave a quick shake before he pulled his hand back, smiling as he gently squeezed Karolina's shoulder, who seemed to be frozen and pulling in on herself as her nervousness started to overpower her excitement as it seemed to happen every year.

Derek smiled at the introduction and nodded a little before he let his gaze fall to his quiet student who shifted her backpack on her shoulders. "Stilinski... that must make you Karolina," Derek said, smiling once again in a way that made his eyes crinkle at the corners. Stiles nearly swore under his breath at how _unfair_ it was that a man that attractive could even exist in the first place. "I'm glad to have you here. Everyone's starting on a project for me if you'd like to go find your desk and start. It's all about your favorite things, and later I'll tell you some of mine, okay?" Karolina seemed to hesitate for a moment, but she gave a slight nod, still having not found her voice quite yet. Derek then pointed to the cubbies at the back of the room as he said, "Once you get your stuff unpacked at your desk, you can go back there and pick one out for your things. That will be yours for the year."

Karolina did smile a little more at that as she nodded slightly and said, "Thank you."

She then gave her dad a quick hug good-bye before she went to go find the desk with her name on a sticker sitting at the top right corner of the top. "She's shy," Stiles explained as she found her desk and started to unpack her things. "At first, anyway. She's usually a big bundle of energy but with new people it's touch and go until she gets comfortable, y'know?"

Derek chuckled softly once again and gave Stiles one of those eye-crinkle smiles that nearly made the restaurant owner want to punch him in the face because _unfair_. "I know what that's like. I was the same as a kid, really. It wasn't easy to get me to open up, but I've learned," he replied with a slight shrug. Then, Derek handed Stiles a small packet of papers that he had given to all the parents or guardians that had come in already. "There's my contact information, if you need it, as well as some ideas I've got for field trips and activities and such. I'd like to hear what the parents think of the ideas before getting the okay from the school. There's also the normal school lunch, insurance, computer usage agreement, and other forms like that we need turned in over the next few days." Stiles nodded absentmindedly as he flipped through the papers, nearly grumbling at the fact that now he had even _more _paperwork to do. He should have expected it, though; it was his homework every year, after all. "Will you be picking Karolina up or does she ride the bus?"

"Oh, I will today; but, we've got a list of acceptable people to pick her up in the office. Sometimes I get too busy at work to come so there's a few others who willingly take the job." Stiles smiled slightly at the memory of Erica all but jumping at the chance the first time Stiles had asked her to go pick up Karolina from school. Derek nodded at the information as he crossed his arms over his chest, glancing over at the students who were filling in the paper that was on their desks, including Karolina, who was concentrating so hard that her tongue was poking out of her mouth slightly on one side. "She's got a really bad allergy to nuts and blueberries, for the record. Last time I didn't actually warn the teacher, she gave everyone something with peanuts in it and... well, _that_ was an experience I would rather not happen again."

The teacher's lips pursed slightly at Stiles' information, finding it just sad that a teacher would not check on something like that. Derek, himself, had already checked over his students' known allergies from the list in the office because he felt like it was the responsible thing to do. After all, if _he_ had a kid in school, he would like the teacher to be prepared for those things. Still, it was kind of nice that Stiles took the initiative to tell him, too; it showed Derek that the young man worried and cared about his daughter. At least, Derek assumed it was his daughter, even though he looked really young to have a eight-year old. Derek nearly had to bite his lip to keep from asking inappropriate questions. "Thank you for letting me know, Stiles, and thanks for coming in. I'd like to know the parents a bit, y'know, faces to names and things like that. Plus, I figure people would like to know the new guy that the school was putting their kids with."

Stiles nodded a little, absently wetting his lips and smiling as he watched Karolina before he looked back to his daughter's teacher. "No, yeah, this was nice. Good idea on your part, Mr. Hale."

"Derek," the man corrected with another one of those smiles that Stiles nearly grumbled at, because as he had already thought several times before, _unfair_.

"Derek," said Stiles, correcting himself with a slight smile. He then gestured toward the door with the packet of papers, taking a step in that direction as he said, "I should probably head to work and let you get to interacting with the kids. It was nice to meet you."

The fourth grade teacher nodded as he said, "See you around, Stiles," before his attention was drawn to a new student and her parents as they came in. The new student seemed even more reluctant than Karolina had been.

Derek put his attention on them, though a part of him watched as Stiles went over to say good-bye to Karolina quickly, who smiled brightly up at her father before he planted a kiss to the top of her head and then left the classroom.

* * *

"And, Mr. Hale said that we're going to do a science fair this year!" Karolina said excitedly from her place at the kitchen table in the apartment that she and Stiles called home. It was fairly small, but there was a large yard behind the building for all the kids to play in, and that was why Stiles had chosen the place when he could finally afford to move out from his dad's house, which was only a few blocks away.

Stiles smiled at his daughter's excitement as he worked on cooking their dinner over the stove that was situated in the island in the middle of the kitchen. "Oh really? Any ideas what you want to do yet?" Stiles asked, stirring the browning hamburger in the skillet.

Karolina shook her head a few times, shifting in her seat as she idly swung her legs underneath her. "Nuh-uh, but we have a long while until then," Karolina replied with a resolute nod.

The rest of their evening was filled with Karolina working on her homework (it was a take home quiz to go over things they had learned the year before, just a quick refresher thing to get their minds back on track), and then watching a couple episodes of SpongeBob before Karolina took a shower and then went to bed. Stiles braided her blonde hair before bed so that tomorrow she could have pretty waves, like Lydia ("Miss Martin at school, remember?" "I know, Daddy."). Once Karolina was in bed, Stiles did the paperwork that he would have to return to the school the following day and used the evening off to catch up on his much-needed sleep. As he slowly drifted off, Stiles could not help but to think back on how Derek's eyes would light up and would crinkle at the corners when he smiled. It was such a nice smile, and the man had a great personality to boot. Of course, the first person in _ages_ that Stiles felt any attraction to would be his daughter's teacher, a fact that reminded him several times over that he needed to quickly stamp out that attraction because he was not going to be _that parent_. Besides, Derek... _Mr. Hale_ was probably married. Right?


	2. Chapter 2

"Where are you off to?" Derek asked with a slightly raised brow as he finished cleaning the dishes in the sink, setting them into the strainer next to it. He glanced over to where his older sister and roommate, Laura, was tugging on her favored leather jacket.

Laura smirked as she tugged the strands of her hair out from under the collar of her jacket. She spoke as she quickly tied the length of her hair into a braid that hung over her right shoulder, tying it in place with a rubber band. "Dinner with Lydia's family," she answered. Once her hair was finished, she crossed her arms over her chest and studied her two years younger brother for a moment. "You should come with me."

Derek laughed awkwardly with a shake of his head as he crossed the room to the fridge to grab himself a beer. Spending his Sunday night with his sister's girlfriend's family did not exactly seem like a good time to him. "Nah, I think I'll stay here." Derek leaned against the kitchen island as he opened the beer bottle, setting aside the cap before taking a sip. "Have fun, though."

"They're going to have that pie you loved so much from Christmas last year."

Laura smirked again, and it made Derek's eyes narrow slightly as he studied his sister. After a moment, he pointed the top of his beer bottle at her as he said, "No." Then, he pushed himself upright and started to walk toward the connected living room. "You're up to something again, and the answer is no."

The eldest of the two siblings groaned as she walked over to grab her purse off the small table located just around the corner of the entrance hall. "There's just someone that I really think you should meet, Derek. You'd like him. He's funny, and-"

"Laura, the last time I let you set me up, she turned out to be a stalker." Derek arched a brow slightly and grabbed a notebook off of the coffee table where he set his beer down. "I'd rather not go there again."

"Jennifer was a mistake; but, I didn't know her like I know this guy. He'd really be good for you, Der." Laura seemed to be pouting a little, but the way that she watched Derek put all of his focus on whatever he was writing down made her eventually sigh and give up. For the time being, anyway. "This isn't New York, Derek. It's _Beacon Hills_. You need to get out of this apartment and meet people again." Without another word, Laura turned and left the apartment, locking the door behind her.

Derek sighed heavily, tossing his notebook onto the coffee table before tilting his head back and pinching the bridge of his nose between two of his fingers. He loved his sister; but, sometimes she could be a bit much. He was thankful that she had agreed to share the apartment with him until he could save up for a better place on his own. It was nice being back in his hometown, however, and nicer still to actually know someone. He was sure that his mother was glad that he and Laura no longer lived so far away.

* * *

"Szcęsny, are the potatoes done yet?" questioned Melissa Stilinski as she came into the kitchen of Authenticity, tying an apron around her waist as she went.

Stiles pulled a face at her, hip checking her with a nod to the boiling pot while he continued to work on finishing the salad. "Mama, must you call me that?" he asked with a slight groan to his voice, narrowing his eyes when Melissa simply smirked in response.

"Ah, mijo, it's part of my job." Melissa grinned as she put her focus back onto the potatoes, draining the water in the pot so that she could mash them and add the seasonings that she deemed appropriate.

Stiles was the real cook of the family, but every Sunday, when they closed down the restaurant for their weekly family dinner she or someone else would be in there helping him. It was one of the ways that he found new dishes to add to their ever growing menu. That Sunday they were having a simple baked chicken dinner with a lot of potatoes, vegetables, and salad. There was raspberry lemonade for those that wanted it, and wines for the adults. "Can I have the special juice?" they heard Karolina ask someone out in the dining room, making both Melissa and Stiles chuckle.

Moments later, Erica came waltzing into the room with one of the wine goblets in order to get some sparkling grape juice for Karolina. "Kaja wants to feel adult tonight," she stated as she swept her blonde hair over her shoulder and poured the juice. "Aren't you two finished yet?"

"Lydia's not even here yet, Rica," chuckled Stiles with a shake of his head as he checked on the chicken once again.

"Test," Melissa demanded of Erica, holding a spoonful of the potatoes out for the other woman to try as she walked past.

Erica ate the offered spoonful, and seemed to think about it as she pushed her way out through the swinging kitchen door. "A dash more salt and we've got a winner!" Erica called back over her shoulder for Melissa to hear.

By the time the blonde got back to the dining room with Karolina's juice, Lydia and Laura came in, their fingers linked between them as they talked quietly amongst themselves. The moment they walked in, everyone called greetings toward the couple and Laura let go of Lydia's hand so that the redhead could pick up Karolina when the little one came rushing over to her for a hug. "Auntie Lydia!" Karolina said with a bright smile, giggling when Lydia complimented her on her dress. She then was passed off to Laura for a hug, and began asking Laura all about working with her grandpa on the police force. Laura was one of John's favorite deputies.

"Well, just yesterday..." Laura started telling a new story to Karolina as the two of them sat down at the table, Karolina wiggling in her seat excitedly as the deputy spoke.

"Dinner's ready!" Stiles said with a smile of his own as he and Melissa came into the room with a few serving dishes to add to the middle of the table. Melissa beamed a smile when John kissed her cheek before the sheriff went to help the two carry in the rest of the serving dishes.

All talking overlapped and mingled together as the large make-shift family sat around the tables that were all pushed together in the middle of the room. Stiles could not keep from smiling smally as he took a drink of his wine, glancing over everyone's smiling, happy faces. "I tried to get that brother of mine to join us," Laura told John as she handed the plate of rolls to the man. "He declined, again."

"Maybe next time Derek will join us," replied John with a slight nod, passing on the plate to Melissa, who sat on his other side. "It would be nice to see that kid again."

"Ah, you know him. Anti-social as ever." Laura chuckled a little, while Lydia rolled her eyes and mumbled something about him needing to get out more.

"Derek?" questioned Karolina as she took the buttered roll that Stiles offered to her, tilting her head to the side slightly before wiggling away when Stiles tried to wipe some gravy off her chin. "Daddy," she said with a giggle, ducking away when he tickled her.

"Your teacher, Derek... Mr. Hale is Laura's brother," Lydia explained to Karolina, whose jaw dropped a little at the information, "and my best friend."

Karolina then tugged on Stiles' shirt sleeve in order to make him turn to her instead of continuing to listen to Allison talk about the drapes that she had picked out for the house she and Jackson were finally moving into soon. "Daddy, did you know that?" Karolina asked in awe. She liked her teacher a lot and was surprised that people she had known her whole life knew the man she had only met recently.

"Hmm? Know what?" replied Stiles, his brow furrowing as he looked from his daughter to Laura and Lydia.

"Derek's my brother," Laura answered with a slight chuckle and a smile.

Stiles' eyes widened slightly in surprise at the information. Somehow, he had never quite put two and two together. He knew Laura was a Hale; but, he had not really thought about how all the Hales in Beacon Hills were related (unlike some families like Smith and Jones). "Br- Right, no. I should have figured that out. That's cool. You should definitely get him to join us sometime. We've always got room for one more, and he's easily become Kaja's favorite teacher _ever_."

Karolina nodded rapidly with a bright grin before she launched into a story about everything that Mr. Hale had said they would be doing that year, and how when they had to take turns reading out loud Mr. Hale would even read some too. By the end of dinner, everyone had gotten to hear all about Karolina's favorite part of the fourth grade was so far; her teacher because he was amazing.

After dessert was served, and Karolina was sent to finish working on her homework at one of the empty tables in the room while the adults were picking up, Melissa seemed to remember something as she stopped and said, "Oh!" Everyone turned their attention to her then, waiting to see what it was that she had to say as she put her focus on Allison. "What was the news, sweetheart?"

Jackson started smiling widely then, reaching over to take Allison's hand as they shared one of those loving looks that always made Stiles roll his eyes and grumble about them being a Halmark card, something that had happened starting in high school. That day was no exception. "Well, everyone knows that Allison and I are moving into our house soon," Jackson said, smiling over at Allison again.

"Are you going to tell us the news or let us die of old age?" questioned Chris, Allison's father with a chuckle as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Allison rolled her eyes fondly at her father with a slight shake of her head and a smile. "Daddy," she said as she tucked her hair behind an ear. "It looks like we've got amazing timing with moving because... I'm pregnant!"

The eruption of noise in the room was enough to make Karolina look up from her school work as everyone rushed to Allison to congratulate her and Jackson, giving hugs to both of them. Chris pressed a kiss to his daughter's forehead, making her and Jackson promise he'd be one of the first options for babysitting duties. Erica and Lydia both volunteered to help with the nursery while Isaac and Boyd gave simple yet heartfelt congratulations. John and Stiles each hugged the couple tightly; and, when Karolina figured out what was going on, she pressed her ear to Allison's stomach and said, "I don't hear a baby in there."

Everyone chuckled at her words while Allison toyed with the blonde girl's hair idly as she knelt down and said, "The baby's still too little to hear; but, when it's bigger, I'll let you listen."

Karolina beamed up at Allison and thanked her with a hug before falling into a million questions about babies that resulted in Jackson leading her back over to Stiles and saying, "I think we should leave the rest of these questions for you, Dad."

Stiles groaned and ran a hand through his hair, shoving at Jackson's shoulder with a smile and a laugh. "Soon it'll be your turn, _Dad_," countered Stiles with a smirk before he smiled at his daughter. "Wanna go get your coat and backpack so we can head home, Kaja?"

"Okay, Daddy!" she replied, smiling before she practically skipped off to go get her things.

All-in-all, Stiles decided it had been a great evening when he finally locked up the restaurant after everyone had left to head to their respective homes and he took his daughter's hand in his own so that they could walk the few blocks down the street to their apartment.

* * *

"Whatcha working on?" Laura asked Derek as she walked into their apartment and tugged off her jacket. She rolled her eyes with a fond smile when she received a mumbled response from Derek. Then, she made her way over to the couch and sat down next to him, resting her head on the back of the couch as she turned her attention onto her brother. "So, Stiles says that you really should join us next week."

Laura smirked when Derek's pen jerked across the page enough to leave a long black line and his gaze lifted to where his sister was. "What?" Derek replied, his brow furrowing a little as Laura's grin grew.

She nodded as she stretched over-exaggeratedly, attempting to get more comfortable where she sat. "Mmhmm. Got to hear all about how you are such an _amazing_ teacher from Karolina, and Stiles says there's definitely room for his little girl's favorite teacher on Sunday night." Laura could not keep from laughing when Derek continued to look at her as if she had grown a second head. She then reached up to ruffle Derek's hair despite his protests. "If I had known the cute parent you talked about the other day was _Stiles_ I would have made you show up."

"Wh-? Who said it's Stiles?" Derek finally found his voice as he set aside his notebook and crossed his arms over his chest, while Laura simply stood up and smirked once again.

"Why, you did baby brother, when you reacted like you did when I said that Stiles wanted you to be at dinner." Laura reached out to pat the side of Derek's face twice before she then walked to the back of the apartment where her bedroom was. Maybe, just maybe, she thought as she got ready to take a shower, she would no longer have to play match-maker for her brother.

* * *

Stiles reclined next to his daughter in her bed, his arm around her as he held the book with both hands so that they could both read the words as he spoke them. Karolina smiled sleepily as she snuggled into her father's side, trying her best to keep her eyes open even as Stiles stopped reading to press a kiss to the top of your head. "It's time for sleep, Princess," Stiles said quietly. Karolina gave a muffled sort of protest, which only made Stiles chuckle a little as he marked the page in their book. He then carefully moved his arm from around his daughter, standing up to cover her up with a soft promise of her turn to read the next night. "Sleep well, baby."

Once he was sure that Karolina wasn't going to wake back up, Stiles turned off her bedside light and then made his way to the hall. He closed the door behind him, leaving it open a crack, and went into the living room. Stiles sighed heavily as he dropped down to sit on the couch. He had no idea what to do with himself once Karolina was asleep. He did not really watch television, and he had read all the books in the apartment. He was caught up on all the cleaning. It was in those few hours of quiet alone time that Stiles realized just how alone he really was. He was typically too busy for it to bother him, but that night, it was a twinge he could not get rid of.

Stiles worried at his lower lip as he sat there, picking at his nails for several long moments before he forced himself to get up and take a shower if only to have something to do while anxiously waiting for morning.


End file.
